Olaf Wieghorst (1899-1988), Late Stage, oil, 24 x 30. Estimate: $30,000-$40,000
Scottsdale Art Auction, Scottsdale, AZ
April 14-15
Every April, the Scottsdale, Arizona, art district bustles with energy as collectors, dealers and artists arrive in the city for the famed Scottsdale Art Auction. The sale—founded in 2005 by Michael Frost of J.N. Bartfield Galleries, Jack Morris of Morris Fine Arts and Brad Richardson of Legacy Gallery and Manitou Galleries—is one of the largest in the Southwest focusing on Western, wildlife and sporting art. This year’s edition, taking place over two sessions on April 14 and 15, will include approximately 415 lots of masterworks.
“We have significant bodies of works from the Taos founders including E.I. Couse, Oscar E. Berninghaus and Joseph Henry Sharp,” says Richardson. This includes one of the major pieces of the sale: THE HUNTERS, TAOS, by Berninghaus, which has an estimate of $750,000 to $1.25 million. Richardson explains, “Berninghaus is well known for his hunting scenes, and this one stands out because it is a different composition compared with his other work.”
Two large and important paintings by Couse will hit the block in the sale: the quintessential scene for the artist with INDIAN BOY AND BRAVE LOOKING AT A BLANKET (est. $400,000-$600,0000) and the woodland painting TAOS LOVE CALL (est. $300,000-$500,000). The latter work, as Richardson shares, “will be accompanied by two accessories worn by [Cause’s] models in the painting, a belt and leggings, which is a great addition to owning the piece.”
E.I. Couse (1866-1936), Indian Boy and Brave Looking at a Blanket, oil, 50 x 59. Estimate: $400,000-$600,000
E.I. Couse (1866-1936), Taos Love Call, oil, 34 x 46. Estimate: $300,000-$500,000
Other historic works of note include John Clymer’s WELCOMING THE TRADE BOAT (est. $300,000-$500,000); James Reynolds’ THEN AND NOW (est. $20,000-$30,000), depicting a cowboy in a yellow raincoat; and Olaf Wieghorst’s LATE STAGE (est. $30,000-$40,000), which shows a horse-drawn stagecoach whipping through the desert.
“We also see that the market is very strong with more contemporary styles of work,” Richardson says. “This auction has a good representation of contemporary works with artists like Logan Maxwell Hagege, Glenn Dean, Phil Epp, Ed Mell, Eric Bowman and William Haskell.”
Hagege‘s 36-inch square oil painting PLACES NEVER SEEN (est. $50,000-$75,000) was offered at the 49th annual Prix de West and is a signature composition for the artist, with a horse and rider silhouetted against large, billowing clouds. Mell is represented by STORM BEYOND THE RIM, estimated at $15,000 to $20,000, which features brilliant foreground shadows as a storm encroaches in the scene. The Howard Terpning portrait THE NEXT GENERATION will also cross the block with an estimate of $175,000 to $225,000.
On both days of the sale, the preview and registration will begin at 9 a.m., with the start of the auction at 11 a.m.
contact information
(480) 945-0225
www.scottsdaleartauction.com
Logan Maxwell Hagege, Places Never Seen, oil, 36 x 36. Estimate: $50,000-$75,000
Howard Terpning, The Next Generation, oil, 32 x 26. Estimate: $175,000-$225,000
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Scottsdale Art Auction 2022